1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a macerator device; and more particularly to a macerator device for coupling on a waste discharge port of a waste holding tank of a recreational vehicle (RV), train, airplane, bus, boat and other portable toilet.
2. Description of Related Art
One known device is disclosed in Stegall (U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,088) and is a fully automated system that is installed on an RV that uses a macerator pump to evacuate the waste. Another similar device is a macerator pump with hoses and adapters clamped to the pump. Both of the above units require certain procedures to back flush the system.
The Stegall fully automated device requires a compartment, as it is usually permanently installed on the RV. There are also several connections in the installation where there is a higher possibility of a leak occurring. The other device mentioned also has several points in the unit itself where leaks may occur.
Other known devices include Mercer (U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,347), Glegg (U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,968), Trottier (U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,017), and Brockington (U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,715), which all disclose RV holding tank adapters, but not a way for macerating waste before discharging it. Glegg, Trottier and Brockington also disclose backflushing and evacuating waste from a holding tank. However, none of these patents disclose a way for coupling a holding tank adapter to a holding tank for providing a combined backflushing and chopping of waste.
Other patents disclose different types of toilet assemblies having macerating or chopping devices. For example, Howe (U.S. Pat. No. 2,718,012) discloses a self-contained toilet unit having disintegrator blades; Minchak (U.S. Pat. No. 3,699,592) discloses a marine toilet having an auger-type blade; Peirish, Jr. et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,569) discloses a sewage treatment device having a macerator having a macerator element; and Richards et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,658) discloses a marine toilet having a macerator blade. However, similar to that discussed above, none of these patents disclose a way for adapting such macerating devices for providing a combined backflushing and chopping of the waste from a holding tank.